The status quo isn’t working for the majority of New Yorkers in the same way it isn’t working for the majority of Americans. Shouldn't Democrats rally around someone pledging to fix it?
Such a convincing review of all the reasons for the voters choice for Mayor. As you so powerfully explain, Mandami isn't the status quo and that's the point. Hopefully, you will help more elected Democrats get the point as well.
I am 69 and on many issues a MODERATE Democrat, and I voted for Mamdani. Not only young people voted for him. I will also be contributing money to his campaign. It's time for a big change in the Democratic party, for as Dylan wrote decades ago, once again "The times they are a-changin!" Please join us.
Good points. Mamdani is young, energetic and telegenic. He got out there and met people where they were. He has a great ability to communicate with people, and to connect with people, plus he has a sunny disposition that attracts people. I think that's a lesson for Democrats everywhere. His politics probably will not "play in Peoria" but his approach to campaigning certainly will.
It should also be noted that he's not running for national office or even mayor of Peoria - just mayor of NYC. What's wrong with having a mayoral candidate who embodies the diversity and energy of that city?
Mamdani strikes me as intelligent, thoughtful, and earnest. The only serious criticism I have seen about him is that he is an impractical idealist. Whether or not he has the experience and skill to lead NYC as its mayor is yet to be seen, but he has won the support of enough voters in the city to earn the right to try.
"For most of us, it’s easy to see how a 17-year-old who was born in Uganda to Indian parents and who spent two years in South Africa before moving to the United States when he was 7 would logically claim those backgrounds."
Were those boxes he checked referencing "backgrounds" or race?
From the NY Times article (paywall):
"But as a high school senior in 2009, Mr. Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, claimed another label when he applied to Columbia University. Asked to identify his race, he checked a box that he was “Asian” but also “Black or African American,” according to internal data derived from a hack of Columbia University that was shared with The New York Times."
"What he has said is that he does not agree with those words but will not outright condemn them because he does not want to “police speech” as an elected official."
"Mamdani is pledging to freeze rents, make buses free, open city-run grocery stores, and increase taxes on the city’s wealthiest residents to help pay for services, all of which are popular not just with millennials and younger voters but also would seem to be the very “kitchen table issues” we hear about every cycle."
Sure thing...nothing like the promise of "free stuff". It's worked for all manner of politicians.
"The status quo isn’t working for the majority of New Yorkers in the same way it isn’t working for the majority of Americans."
Well, Shalise, just what is the "status quo" right now in New York? You never really say. But you can take a look at this chart from the AP and their analysis of the NYC Democratic primary:
Curious, would you then prefer the sex predator who resigned in disgraced, or the indicted fraud who colluded with the Trump administration? OR maybe perennial GOP clown candidate Curtis Sliwa?
If the best Mamdani haters can come up with is a hack from an avowed white supremacist that shows a teenager who was born in Africa to parents of Asian descent marked himself as both African American and Asian, he is as good as mayor already.
You AP link shows nothing about the 'status quo' and shows nothing about how many people actually voted in those districts.
If you actually looks at the number of people that voted, you will find that Cuomo's support leans heavily toward higher income voters. Many of the lower income neighborhoods Cuomo is shown to win in that chart had very low turnouts (see any number of neighborhoods in the Bronx, and some election districts in Brownsville and Canarsie), while others are in heavily Republican districts (South Williamsburg, Borough Park, Gravesend).
Comparing low income neighborhoods that voted for Cuomo such as Morrisania , which has maybe 400 total votes, to high income neighborhoods that voted heavily for Cuomo like the Upper East Side, which has a few thousands votes, is simply deceptive data visualization. Showing each little square as if they are equal is just simple a good example of how to deceive with fancy looking charts.
No matter how you try to spin it, Mamdani won more votes in a NYC primary mayoral election than any other candidate in the city's history. He brought out more new and young voters and created a coalition of multi ethnic voters no one ever thought possible. Get used to it.
"Curious, would you then prefer the sex predator..."
I don't live in New York.
"If the best Mamdani haters can come up with..."
That may not be the best, and I'm not a Mamdani hater. But you, as is Shalise Manza Young seem to be making the case that any criticism of Mamdani is hate.
"You AP link shows nothing about the 'status quo' and shows nothing about how many people actually voted in those districts."
Correct, but it does show voting based on ethnicity and income. And you drew your own conclusions. Good for you.
"No matter how you try to spin it, Mamdani won more votes in a NYC primary mayoral election than any other candidate in the city's history."
I wasn't trying to "spin" anything. I was merely offering a different viewpoint from the author, just like you were doing to my post. That's what Substack is about. Get used to it.
'I don't live in New York.' - that is pretty obvious.
'it does show voting based on ethnicity and income. And you drew your own conclusions.' - again, it does not show that, at all, since the actual votes are not taken into account at all, and I already demonstrated this. Receiving thousands of votes in a high income area is much more relevant that receiving a small number of votes in a low income area. Looking at the city's votes as a set of equally considered neighborhoods is not just meaningless but deceptive. It is similar to seeing a sea of red in between blue coasts in a presidential election map and assuming the country is overwhelmingly Republican, without understanding that Wyoming has less people than the Bronx, and that the entire Great Plains has fewer total people than California. I 'draw my own conclusions' by looking closely at the data, and by knowing New York City and its voting patterns very well.
As you said 'you are not from New York' so maybe you have no understanding of NYC geography, or demographics, or neighborhood density, or much else about the city.
'I'm not a Mamdani hater' - pardon the obvious colloquial expression. I could say instead 'knee jerk criticism of Mamdani based on a few talking points that oversimplify his platform, while ignoring many of his ideas and his unprecedented win against a powerful Democrat and record-breaking spending'.
'But you, as is Shalise Manza Young seem to be making the case that any criticism of Mamdani is hate.' OF course that is not remotely what the author is saying. You can read the many examples here of the incredibly brazen racism and Islamophobia that are being leveled at Mamdani.
Fact is, and what this piece addressed (finally, The Contrarian says something about Mamdani...it only two three weeks since the election), is that there is serious hate and vicious racist attacks on Mamdani, not just from many Republicans including of course Trump himself, but also many media outlets and many Democrats. The slander against him has been incredible, but not altogether surprising.
I actually would label your post as 'spin' since you cherry pick some facts while ignoring others, and you choose to use deceptive data to make your point, like the silliness of comparing the Upper East Side, population 180,000, to Morrisania, population 16,000. But if you prefer, I can change that comment to s 'no matter how you focus on barely relevant minutia or deceptively displayed data....'
I have lost patience with the weak arguments against Mamdani after months of openly racist attacks (not saying yours is one, btw), so sorry if you are receiving some of that impatience. But, as you say, 'that's what Substack is about'. I am quite used to it, and welcome to chance to counter weak arguments.
I do not condone attacks on race or religion or ethnicity. I do want to read more about how all upcoming elections, local and national, will benefit or hurt Democrats. I think Mamdani, as a left of center politician, is a possible foreshadowing of how Americans feel about politicians who are not, at the very least, centrist. If voters see that Democrats are swinging to a left of center position [Mamdani, AOC, Sanders], then I fear GOP will continue to be elected or reelected. There is a bigger picture here than what happens in NYC. That is what I think we need to focus on.
Mamdani's problem is the usual one for progressive Democrats: terrible messaging. He's "pledging to freeze rents, make buses free, open city-run grocery stores, and increase taxes on the city’s wealthiest residents to help pay for services," but he cloaks those popular policies in the socialism mantle. THOSE ARE NOT SOCIALIST POLICIES! Socialism destroys societies.
Those popular policies epitomize responsible, socially-aware capitalism. Mandami's messaging implies that his policies are anethma to capitalism, messaging that seals his fate with me; I'll do what I can to diminish his political aspirations.
Here's the proper messaging. Capitalism is the greatest economic system for elevating everyone's welfare, but one of its strengths is a double-edged sword: the rapid movement of capital champions better (and usually more profitable) ways of doing things but it also creates major societal disruptions. Capitalism requires a civil and ethical society, but those major disruptions threaten that bedrock.
Human civility is challenged when housing, health, food, education and rewarding work (requiring transportation) are threatened. Scandinavian nations have learned that lesson (for reasons that make it harder for the U.S. to learn). They're capitalist nations with a strong welfare system. That's the message Mamdani needs to send. Avoid the term, "socialism," like the plague. It's responsible capitalism that he needs to tout.
I watched the Meet the Press interview with Kristen Welker had with Zohran Mamdani a couple of weeks ago and was impressed with Mamdani’s views on New York, and what he wanted to do to help its citizens. Some ideas were impressive, some not so, but overall his thinking outside of the box is what we need in our leaders, locally and nationally.
The far right extremists are all up in arms over a man’s name, age, heritage and faith isn’t surprising, especially p47, MTG, Ogles and Kirk wanting to strip his citizenship and booting him out of the country. I wouldn’t be surprised if Pam Bondi hasn’t started looking into his naturalization paperwork and background looking for any hint of misdeeds.
I doubt Zohran Mamdani will become the next Mayor of New York – I never thought there would be TFG 45 and present p47 – but if Mamdani’s candidacy can shows how to bring the Democrats back to their callings of helping the the less fortunate, those left behind, restoring our civil rights and cleaning up the mess this administration has thrust us in, then I’m all for it.
The NY Times article referenced in this piece doesn't seem like a "hit piece" to me. (I just reviewed it.) But given the sort of objectionable attacks now being leveled at Mamdani, I can certainly understand how it might be interpreted in such fashion.
Sen. Gillibrand's definition of "the global intifada"... reinforced an exaggerated interpretation and incorrectly PRETENDED that was the definition it ALWAYS takes for all persons. More correct would be... NOT Gillibrand's "Destroy Israel... kill all the Jews", but something more like "gather international resistance". Gillibrand at least temporarily accepted an exaggerated definition similar to those used insincerely by Rep. Elise Stefanik during the December 2023 House Education and Workforce committee hearing where she ambushed college presidents. At a minimum, this is very disappointing from Gillibrand.
Such a convincing review of all the reasons for the voters choice for Mayor. As you so powerfully explain, Mandami isn't the status quo and that's the point. Hopefully, you will help more elected Democrats get the point as well.
who's gonna say no to that smile with some good ideas ??
I am 69 and on many issues a MODERATE Democrat, and I voted for Mamdani. Not only young people voted for him. I will also be contributing money to his campaign. It's time for a big change in the Democratic party, for as Dylan wrote decades ago, once again "The times they are a-changin!" Please join us.
Good points. Mamdani is young, energetic and telegenic. He got out there and met people where they were. He has a great ability to communicate with people, and to connect with people, plus he has a sunny disposition that attracts people. I think that's a lesson for Democrats everywhere. His politics probably will not "play in Peoria" but his approach to campaigning certainly will.
It should also be noted that he's not running for national office or even mayor of Peoria - just mayor of NYC. What's wrong with having a mayoral candidate who embodies the diversity and energy of that city?
Mamdani strikes me as intelligent, thoughtful, and earnest. The only serious criticism I have seen about him is that he is an impractical idealist. Whether or not he has the experience and skill to lead NYC as its mayor is yet to be seen, but he has won the support of enough voters in the city to earn the right to try.
"For most of us, it’s easy to see how a 17-year-old who was born in Uganda to Indian parents and who spent two years in South Africa before moving to the United States when he was 7 would logically claim those backgrounds."
Were those boxes he checked referencing "backgrounds" or race?
From the NY Times article (paywall):
"But as a high school senior in 2009, Mr. Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, claimed another label when he applied to Columbia University. Asked to identify his race, he checked a box that he was “Asian” but also “Black or African American,” according to internal data derived from a hack of Columbia University that was shared with The New York Times."
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/03/nyregion/mamdani-columbia-black-application.html
"What he has said is that he does not agree with those words but will not outright condemn them because he does not want to “police speech” as an elected official."
Here is the video...you make the call:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggV2SeiGrVw
"Mamdani is pledging to freeze rents, make buses free, open city-run grocery stores, and increase taxes on the city’s wealthiest residents to help pay for services, all of which are popular not just with millennials and younger voters but also would seem to be the very “kitchen table issues” we hear about every cycle."
Sure thing...nothing like the promise of "free stuff". It's worked for all manner of politicians.
"The status quo isn’t working for the majority of New Yorkers in the same way it isn’t working for the majority of Americans."
Well, Shalise, just what is the "status quo" right now in New York? You never really say. But you can take a look at this chart from the AP and their analysis of the NYC Democratic primary:
https://apnews.com/projects/nyc-primary-election-mayor-precinct-map/
Curious, would you then prefer the sex predator who resigned in disgraced, or the indicted fraud who colluded with the Trump administration? OR maybe perennial GOP clown candidate Curtis Sliwa?
If the best Mamdani haters can come up with is a hack from an avowed white supremacist that shows a teenager who was born in Africa to parents of Asian descent marked himself as both African American and Asian, he is as good as mayor already.
You AP link shows nothing about the 'status quo' and shows nothing about how many people actually voted in those districts.
If you actually looks at the number of people that voted, you will find that Cuomo's support leans heavily toward higher income voters. Many of the lower income neighborhoods Cuomo is shown to win in that chart had very low turnouts (see any number of neighborhoods in the Bronx, and some election districts in Brownsville and Canarsie), while others are in heavily Republican districts (South Williamsburg, Borough Park, Gravesend).
Comparing low income neighborhoods that voted for Cuomo such as Morrisania , which has maybe 400 total votes, to high income neighborhoods that voted heavily for Cuomo like the Upper East Side, which has a few thousands votes, is simply deceptive data visualization. Showing each little square as if they are equal is just simple a good example of how to deceive with fancy looking charts.
No matter how you try to spin it, Mamdani won more votes in a NYC primary mayoral election than any other candidate in the city's history. He brought out more new and young voters and created a coalition of multi ethnic voters no one ever thought possible. Get used to it.
"Curious, would you then prefer the sex predator..."
I don't live in New York.
"If the best Mamdani haters can come up with..."
That may not be the best, and I'm not a Mamdani hater. But you, as is Shalise Manza Young seem to be making the case that any criticism of Mamdani is hate.
"You AP link shows nothing about the 'status quo' and shows nothing about how many people actually voted in those districts."
Correct, but it does show voting based on ethnicity and income. And you drew your own conclusions. Good for you.
"No matter how you try to spin it, Mamdani won more votes in a NYC primary mayoral election than any other candidate in the city's history."
I wasn't trying to "spin" anything. I was merely offering a different viewpoint from the author, just like you were doing to my post. That's what Substack is about. Get used to it.
'I don't live in New York.' - that is pretty obvious.
'it does show voting based on ethnicity and income. And you drew your own conclusions.' - again, it does not show that, at all, since the actual votes are not taken into account at all, and I already demonstrated this. Receiving thousands of votes in a high income area is much more relevant that receiving a small number of votes in a low income area. Looking at the city's votes as a set of equally considered neighborhoods is not just meaningless but deceptive. It is similar to seeing a sea of red in between blue coasts in a presidential election map and assuming the country is overwhelmingly Republican, without understanding that Wyoming has less people than the Bronx, and that the entire Great Plains has fewer total people than California. I 'draw my own conclusions' by looking closely at the data, and by knowing New York City and its voting patterns very well.
As you said 'you are not from New York' so maybe you have no understanding of NYC geography, or demographics, or neighborhood density, or much else about the city.
'I'm not a Mamdani hater' - pardon the obvious colloquial expression. I could say instead 'knee jerk criticism of Mamdani based on a few talking points that oversimplify his platform, while ignoring many of his ideas and his unprecedented win against a powerful Democrat and record-breaking spending'.
'But you, as is Shalise Manza Young seem to be making the case that any criticism of Mamdani is hate.' OF course that is not remotely what the author is saying. You can read the many examples here of the incredibly brazen racism and Islamophobia that are being leveled at Mamdani.
Fact is, and what this piece addressed (finally, The Contrarian says something about Mamdani...it only two three weeks since the election), is that there is serious hate and vicious racist attacks on Mamdani, not just from many Republicans including of course Trump himself, but also many media outlets and many Democrats. The slander against him has been incredible, but not altogether surprising.
I actually would label your post as 'spin' since you cherry pick some facts while ignoring others, and you choose to use deceptive data to make your point, like the silliness of comparing the Upper East Side, population 180,000, to Morrisania, population 16,000. But if you prefer, I can change that comment to s 'no matter how you focus on barely relevant minutia or deceptively displayed data....'
I have lost patience with the weak arguments against Mamdani after months of openly racist attacks (not saying yours is one, btw), so sorry if you are receiving some of that impatience. But, as you say, 'that's what Substack is about'. I am quite used to it, and welcome to chance to counter weak arguments.
"I have lost patience with the weak arguments against Mamdani..."
Of course you have. Continue your fight for whatever it is you're fighting for and have a good day.
If he raises taxes as they did in Boston, it should work fine. 👹
I do not condone attacks on race or religion or ethnicity. I do want to read more about how all upcoming elections, local and national, will benefit or hurt Democrats. I think Mamdani, as a left of center politician, is a possible foreshadowing of how Americans feel about politicians who are not, at the very least, centrist. If voters see that Democrats are swinging to a left of center position [Mamdani, AOC, Sanders], then I fear GOP will continue to be elected or reelected. There is a bigger picture here than what happens in NYC. That is what I think we need to focus on.
I think he’s wonderful and if I were a New Yorker I’d vote for him!
Mamdani's problem is the usual one for progressive Democrats: terrible messaging. He's "pledging to freeze rents, make buses free, open city-run grocery stores, and increase taxes on the city’s wealthiest residents to help pay for services," but he cloaks those popular policies in the socialism mantle. THOSE ARE NOT SOCIALIST POLICIES! Socialism destroys societies.
Those popular policies epitomize responsible, socially-aware capitalism. Mandami's messaging implies that his policies are anethma to capitalism, messaging that seals his fate with me; I'll do what I can to diminish his political aspirations.
Here's the proper messaging. Capitalism is the greatest economic system for elevating everyone's welfare, but one of its strengths is a double-edged sword: the rapid movement of capital champions better (and usually more profitable) ways of doing things but it also creates major societal disruptions. Capitalism requires a civil and ethical society, but those major disruptions threaten that bedrock.
Human civility is challenged when housing, health, food, education and rewarding work (requiring transportation) are threatened. Scandinavian nations have learned that lesson (for reasons that make it harder for the U.S. to learn). They're capitalist nations with a strong welfare system. That's the message Mamdani needs to send. Avoid the term, "socialism," like the plague. It's responsible capitalism that he needs to tout.
I watched the Meet the Press interview with Kristen Welker had with Zohran Mamdani a couple of weeks ago and was impressed with Mamdani’s views on New York, and what he wanted to do to help its citizens. Some ideas were impressive, some not so, but overall his thinking outside of the box is what we need in our leaders, locally and nationally.
The far right extremists are all up in arms over a man’s name, age, heritage and faith isn’t surprising, especially p47, MTG, Ogles and Kirk wanting to strip his citizenship and booting him out of the country. I wouldn’t be surprised if Pam Bondi hasn’t started looking into his naturalization paperwork and background looking for any hint of misdeeds.
I doubt Zohran Mamdani will become the next Mayor of New York – I never thought there would be TFG 45 and present p47 – but if Mamdani’s candidacy can shows how to bring the Democrats back to their callings of helping the the less fortunate, those left behind, restoring our civil rights and cleaning up the mess this administration has thrust us in, then I’m all for it.
The NY Times article referenced in this piece doesn't seem like a "hit piece" to me. (I just reviewed it.) But given the sort of objectionable attacks now being leveled at Mamdani, I can certainly understand how it might be interpreted in such fashion.
Sen. Gillibrand's definition of "the global intifada"... reinforced an exaggerated interpretation and incorrectly PRETENDED that was the definition it ALWAYS takes for all persons. More correct would be... NOT Gillibrand's "Destroy Israel... kill all the Jews", but something more like "gather international resistance". Gillibrand at least temporarily accepted an exaggerated definition similar to those used insincerely by Rep. Elise Stefanik during the December 2023 House Education and Workforce committee hearing where she ambushed college presidents. At a minimum, this is very disappointing from Gillibrand.
I liked Mamdani until I learned that he is still very much pro-BDS: https://www.timesofisrael.com/nearly-1-3-of-new-york-voters-support-mamdanis-statements-on-bds-intifada-poll/